This invention relates to a portable information processing apparatus such as a personal computer of the notebook type.
In a portable information processing apparatus represented, for example, by a personal computer of the notebook type, a lid member having a display screen on an inner face thereof is mounted for pivotal folding and unfolding movement on a body having a keyboard on an upper face thereof. A touch pad is provided at a substantially central position on the upper face of the body in the leftward and rightward directions of the body forwardly of the keyboard. The touch pad can be traced with a fingertip to perform such an operation as, for example, an operation for moving a pointer displayed on the display screen. In most cases, a left click button and a right click button are provided forwardly of the touch pad (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 11-102234/1999). In this manner, the touch pad and the left and right buttons in the portable information processing apparatus function as a mouse which is required by a personal computer of the desktop type.
Also a portable information processing apparatus of the stick type which includes a stick for operating a pointer in place of a touch pad is known. In the portable information apparatus of the type mentioned, the stick is disposed at a substantially central portion of the keyboard on the upper face of the body in the leftward and rightward directions of the body and is used such that an upper portion thereof is moved forwardly or backwardly and/or leftwardly or rightwardly with a finger tip to operate the pointer.
Furthermore, a portable information processing apparatus of the track ball type which includes a track ball for operating a pointer in place of a touch pad is known as well. In the portable information processing apparatus of the type mentioned, the track ball is disposed at a substantially central portion on the upper face of the body in the leftward and rightward directions of the body forwardly of the keyboard and is used such that it is rolled or rotated with a fingertip to operate the pointer.
In the portable information processing apparatus of both of the stick type and the track ball type, the left button and the right button are provided at a substantially central position on the upper face of the body in the leftward and rightward directions forwardly of the keyboard.
Recently, a portable information processing apparatus wherein an operation element, which can be manually rotated and pushed in, called jog dial is provided on a side face of a body in order to assure good convenience of use of the apparatus itself, good convenience of use of application software and so froth has been placed on the market by the assignee of the present application. The jog dial is provided on one of the left and right side faces of the body such that it can be rotated forwardly and backwardly (can be manually operated forwardly and backwardly to rotate) around a vertical axis and can be pushed in and displaced bodily and laterally.
The jog dial can be used such that, for example, one of a plurality of names of application software displayed on the display screen is designated or selected making use of forward or reverse rotation of the jog dial and then execution of the thus selected name of application software is started by push-in displacement of the jog dial. Mechanical variations obtained by operation of the jog dial basically provide three-dimensional factors including rotation in the two directions and push-in displacement. Further, depending upon the amount of rotation in either direction or by arithmetic operation based on such an amount of rotation, also the speed of rotation in any direction of rotation can be obtained. Accordingly, by allocating a variation caused by operation of the jog dial to a particular function of the portable information processing apparatus itself or to a suitable function or functions of application software, significant improvement in convenience of use can be anticipated.
Meanwhile, another portable information processing apparatus has been placed on the market recently wherein the left and right click buttons are provided forwardly of the touch pad, that is, on the nearer side to the user with respect to the touch pad and a scroll button is provided at a position between the left and right click buttons. The scroll button is formed as a button of the seesaw type which can be rocked in the forward and backward directions. For example, if the scroll button is depressed at the rear side thereof, then scrolling in a predetermined one direction is performed, but if the scroll button is depressed at the front side thereof, then scrolling in the other direction is performed. However, when the scroll button of the seesaw type is operated, only two kinds of mechanical variation including depression of the front side and the rear side are available. Thus, the scroll button does not provide satisfactory convenience of use.
As described above, employment of such a jog dial as described can provide improved convenience of use to a portable information processing apparatus. However, since the jog dial is disposed on a side face of the body, in order to operate the jog dial, the user must move its one hand by a great distance not only from the keyboard but also from the touch pad or a click button. Therefore, the jog dial has a room for improvement in terms of the operability thereof. Further, since the jog dial is provided on a particular one side face of the body, the jog dial may be positioned reversely to the hand of the user more skillful than the other hand in regard to the leftward and rightward directions. In this instance, the user is obliged to use its hand different from the more skillful hand to operate the jog dial. Also in this regard, the jog dial has a room in improvement.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable information processing apparatus which is improved in operability for an operation element which can be rotated and pushed in.
In order to attain the object described above, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable information processing apparatus, comprising a body having a keyboard on an upper face thereof, a lid member having a display screen thereon and mounted for folding and unfolding movement on and with respect to the body, a touch pad provided at a substantially central position of the upper face of the body in the leftward and rightward directions of the body forwardly of the keyboard, and an operation element mounted in the proximity of the touch pad on the upper face of the body for forward and reverse rotation around an axial line extending substantially in parallel to the upper face of the body and for bodily displacement by push-in operation thereof.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable information processing apparatus, comprising a body having a keyboard on an upper face thereof, a lid member having a display screen thereon and mounted for folding and unfolding movement on and with respect to the body, a left click button and a right click button provided at a substantially central position of the upper face of the body in the leftward and rightward directions of the body forwardly of the keyboard, and an operation element mounted in the proximity of the click buttons on the upper face of the body for forward and reverse rotation around an axial line extending substantially in parallel to the upper face of the body and for bodily displacement by push-in operation thereof.
In both of the portable information processing apparatus, the touch pad or any of the click buttons is operated with a fingertip of the operator, and the operation element of the rotation and push-in type is positioned in the proximity of the fingertip. Therefore, the operator can operate the operation element by moving the fingertip only by a small amount without moving the hand by a great amount. Further, since the operation element of the rotation and push-in type is disposed at a substantially central position in the leftward and rightward directions of the body, whichever one of the left and right hands of the operator is the hand more skillful than the other hand, the operator can always operate the operation element with the more skillful hand. Consequently, the portable information processing apparatus can be used with improved convenience of use and with improved operability making use of the operation element of the rotation and push-in type.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts or elements denoted by like reference symbols.